1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support device for a fire extinguisher, of the type comprising a rigid hook on which the fire extinguisher is hung.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, fire extinguishers which are used in most industrial, commercial or individual buildings as essential safety features are hung by hooks fixed to the walls. This type of support allows anyone to easily reach and remove the fire extinguisher in the event it is needed, but it has the inherent drawback of permitting the person having once used the fire extinguisher to rehang it after use. The disadvantage of this is that the fire extinguisher may not have been completely used and is near empty, or it may be empty and may simply have been rehung through inadvertance. In both cases, such rehanging of the fire extinguisher can be particularly dangerous since a so-rehung fire extinguisher may be empty or near empty and, therefore, inoperative when again needed.
As a matter of fact, various experiments have shown that when a fire extinguisher is removed from its support for putting out a fire, the person who uses it almost always hangs it again on its support without verifying its internal pressure, and thus makes it dangerous for subsequent use. This occurs even if the fire extinguisher is the type provided with a meter indicating its internal pressure and, therefore, permitting those in charge of maintenance to determine whether or not it must be recharged if discovered.